Secret of Adulthood: Someplace, Keep an Empty Shelf.

Now, what's so great about an empty shelf? An empty shelf shows that I have room to expand -- I'm not crowded in by my stuff, I have order and space. For most people, outer order contributes to inner calm, a subject that I explore at some length in Happier at Home and also in Better Than Before. (If you want to know when Better Than Before goes on sale, sign up here.)

Some people say, "Gretchen, do you really have an empty shelf?" I really do (though I have to protect it against my husband, who never sees an empty shelf without wanting to stick something on it). If you want to see it, watch here at minute 6:41.